Description
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The general low performance of Nigeria’s cattle breeds compared to others has
been attributed to many factors including nutrition and management methods. It
has been suggested that the nutritional limitation caused by seasonality of forages
and low nutritional quality can be ameliorated by supplemental feeding of grazing
animals using crop residues and agricultural industrial by-products NRC (2006).
while the management system which is traditional and characterized by low input
can be improved by feedlot fattening of the animals Garcia, (2013).
Feed constitute about 70-80% of the variable cost of growing cattle (Olayiwole et
al 2007). Therefore, any feeding system that will reduce feed cost will ultimately
result in reduction of total cost of production and increase profit margin. Thus, the
use of non-conventional feedstuffs and crop residues which have little opportunity
cost in their use for other purposes on the farm can be substituted for the
conventional and very expensive feedstuffs to reduce cost of production (Lamidi et
al 2007).